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Biomedical subjects

H T Delves

Publications and source records attributed to H T Delves.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Effects of alcohol and smoking on blood lead in middle-aged British men.

A survey of middle-aged men in 24 British towns showed a strong association between blood lead concentrations, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking. The association with alcohol persisted after age, social class, body mass index, cigarette smoking, water lead concentrations, and the town of residence had been taken into account. There was an independent but less pronounced association between cigarette smoking and blood lead concentrations after adjustment for the other factors. The possible mechanisms include a decreased excretion of lead due to alcohol-induced hepatic dysfunction and an increased lead intake from cigarette smoking. These findings have implications for widespread measurement of blood lead concentrations in adults in the community and for all studies attempting to relate blood lead concentrations to environmental exposure.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

An appraisal of the analytical significance of tooth-lead measurements as possible indices of environmental exposure of children to lead.

The analysis for lead of whole-crowns from deciduous incisors has been used as an index of the cumulative exposure to lead of children during the prenatal period and until the time of shedding the tooth. The lead was determined by solvent extraction followed by atomic absorption, and strict analytical quality control was employed. The concentrations of lead in pairs of central and lateral incisors from children revealed unexpectedly large differences for some individuals.

Child↗
PubMed1982

Metabolic balance studies for zinc and nitrogen in healthy elderly subjects.

Metabolic balances for zinc and nitrogen were performed in ten healthy elderly men and women aged 72.2 to 85.4 yr whilst they were living in their own homes. The mean daily retentions of nitrogen and zinc were 29 mmol (range-38 to +179) and 4 micromol (range -17 to +16) respectively. The mean concentrations of zinc were 11.9 micromol/1 plasma (lower than in younger adults) and 89.8 micromol/1 whole blood (similar to that of younger adults). There was no significant correlation between these values nor was there correlation with the overall retention of zinc. The balance data provide reference values against which the findings in malnourished, sick and institutionalized elderly may be better assessed.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Blood lead levels during pregnancy.

A cross-sectional study of the variation of blood-lead levels throughout pregnancy was carried out on 165 women living in a rural area and 19 women living in an urban area. The mean blood-lead levels of both groups did not differ significantly from those of non-pregnant controls (27 rural and 19 urban). There was, however, a significant decrease in blood-lead levels throughout pregnancy, the magnitude of which was greater than the dilution effect of the concurrent increase in plasma volume. Women living in the urban area, whether pregnant or not, had significantly higher blood-lead levels than did those in the rural area. The mean blood-lead levels of 23 neonates was significantly lower at 6 days than their mothers' at term. These observations suggest that throughout pregnancy there is either an increasing placental deposition of lead or an increasing rate of transfer of lead to foetal tissues or a possible increased loss of body lead via other routes, e.g., urine. The higher blood-lead levels observed for the urban populations reflect increased environmental contamination with lead.

Female↗
PubMed1981

The therapeutic effect of amphotericin in acrodermatitis enteropathica: hypothesis and implications.

A nine year-old girl with acrodermatitis enteropathica developed typical clinical and biochemical features of zinc deficiency on two occasions while on an oral zinc supplement. On both occasions, these features responded immediately when she was treated with amphotericin B lozenges. Studies in vitro showed that amphotericin increases the permeability to zinc of pure lipid membranes containing cholesterol. We suggest that the antibiotic enhanced zinc absorption from the oral supplement thereby effecting resolution of the patient's zinc deficiency.

Acrodermatitis↗
PubMed1980

Dietary sources of copper.

The dietary intakes of copper by children and adults who consume free diets are often significantly lower than the recommended daily allowances of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) or the World Health Organization. These lower-than-recommended intakes of copper appear to be adequate for healthy individuals since states of copper deficiency have not been observed in the absence of an accompanying metabolic disorder. Copper deficiencies have arisen in pre-term infants of low birth weight as a result of breast-milk diets, and in children and adults as a result of fluids that are used for total parenteral nutrition. This paper describes the use of trace-metal balance studies to evaluate the adequacy of copper intake from these sources and from synthetic diets that are used in the treatment of inherited and acquired metabolic disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Symptomatic zinc deficiency in a breast-fed preterm infant.

A 2-month-old preterm boy who developed symptomatic zinc deficiency while being exclusively breast fed is described. Oral zinc supplements induced a complete remission but mucosal 65Zn uptake studies and metabolic balances conducted before and after withdrawal of the supplements excluded the diagnosis of acrodermatitis enteropathica. By age 12 months the boy was well and no longer required zinc supplements. Other possible causes of this patient's symptomatic zinc deficiency are discussed and these should be considered in the immediate and long-term management of preterm infants.

Breast Feeding↗
PubMed1979

CSF copper in schizophrenia.

The authors measured copper levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of 8 schizophrenic subjects and 6 controls. The schizophrenic subjects had significantly lower CSF copper values than the controls, which is consistent with the hypothesis that there is reduced central activity of copper-dependent enzymes in schizophrenia. These enzymes, tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase, are involved in the synthesis and catabolism of dopamine.

Copper↗
PubMed1978

Mineral and trace metal supplement for use with synthetic diets based on comminuted chicken.

Earlier studies (Alexander et al., 1974; Lawson et al., 1977) suggested a suitable composition for a mineral and trace metal supplement for use with synthetic diets containing some natural food. Such a mixture has been evaluated in patients receiving a diet based on comminuted chicken and has been shown to be adequate. This conclusion was based on balance experiments measuring Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe, Ca, Mg, N, and P.

Animals↗